A labour of love over ten years

Millbrae was run as a 5 bedroom B and B until 2015.  When buying it I knew the roof needed replacing.  I wasn't prepared for the rest of the journey to get this house the way you see it today. 

It became apparent most of the wall covering were rotten, or a cement board that may contain small traces of asbestos. It was decided it should all come out in one go. The house looked distraught.

I wanted the kitchen to be the heart the house, a really lovely space to work in.  The granite worktops came from Inverness and the fireplace and stoves were fitted by a local contractor down in Sleat. 

Deciding on materials is a tricky thing when you've got a whole house to make match.  Most of the Oak used in the house was purchased from British Hardwoods, rather than European white oak. The joinery was done by a local chap from Kyle.

I always think a bath is essential, especially if you've been walking in the mountains and need to ease the body.  I chose a double ended bath  and separate shower cubicle making a spacious bathroom for the family.

After nearly 10 years of being a building and rubble site, I had no idea how I was going to get his looking like a nice space again.  Thankfully another local contractor had a vision better than I could see and took over the project. 

The garden contained a lot of stones from the internal wall that had to come down  Local company Crioch Walling, took on the challenge to use these to build a stunning wall, that looks like it has always belonged there. 

Local guy Colin took over the whole of this project, removing all the leftover stones and levelling the garden as much as possible to create, what we hope, you will love as much as we do.

Originally planned as my workshop, the large building is now the laundry, with a little space left for me to do some handicrafts. The patio is all Indian sandstone and you can see the start of the hot tub area here

You can watch a Timelapse video of the turf going down here.

I first used a Kota when I came to Skye first in 2015 and I knew I needed to have on in the garden.  A larger version, this one has a little extension section that has a fridge and small prep area for food.  Click here to see a little video of it whilst being prepared. 

Definitely the way to unwind if you have had a day of site seeking.  The hot tub was supplied by Heavenly Hot Tubs from Johnstone.  You can also see the shower tray for the solar panel shower.  Not sure how warm it will get, but a cold shower is pretty nice after a warm dip